Some of the best games of 2022 are horror titles with smaller scopes and more focused ideas. Games like The Mortuary Assistant and Who’s Lila? have short run times but make a big impact.
Every year has big tentpole releases, like the Assassin’s various Creeds or a new Call of Duty. But there’s an underbelly to the game release calendar in the form of a thriving horror games scene. Many of these games have a short run time, focusing on one chilling concept or malicious monster, and they’re nearly as fun to watch as they are to play. October is a prime time for scary games, but if you look carefully, they’re available all year round. They push the medium forward, and they’re my personal games of the year.
A big, meaty open-world RPG like Elden Ring is full of terrifying characters and eldritch twists, but I find the most compelling scares that lurk around my brain come from smaller and more focused experiences. And I’m not alone. Horror is the most popular tag on itch.io, a platform that tends to host smaller and more experimental titles. There are also horror games with no end, like Dead by Daylight or Phasmophobia, that are fun to play over and over or watch streamers attempt. When I don’t have the courage to make my way through a campaign — or the inclination to find all of the endings and secrets — I can check out one of the YouTubers or Twitch streamers who explore the genre.
One of the best horror games that came out this year is Who’s Lila?, a point-and-click adventure starring the awkward youth William. As the player navigates through William’s life, they have to manually adjust his expression; he’s not good at doing it on his own, and staring at everyone with an expressionless poker face tends to freak others out.
